The Dickinson press., 1887-08-27
WHERE CUSTER FELL.
A VISIT TO THE FIELD WITH GALL,
WHO LED THE INDIANS.

Horses Stampeded by Boy Warriors.
History Corrected-The Losses on Both
Sides.
The Indian camp was OH the left side of the
Little Horn river, extending up and down
the stream, i'll lovely, fertile bottom,
covered with rich herbage and luxuriant
grasses, and occupying an area fully three
miles in length by half mile in width.
When one considers the size of this camp,
close packed with lodges, tepees and wicki-
ups, he can form some idea of the population
it contained. 1t must be remembered, too,
that every redskin in q tribe-bucks, squaws,
boys, maidens, and all except tho papooses-
does his or her level best at fighting when at
tackled by an enemy. So it was with Sitting
Bulls village in the Little Horn valley.
When the bravo cavalry leader swept down
OH the Indians with his usual dash and eclat,
lie was not checked by bullets or arrows; no
want Of courage caused him to pause and
falter, but simply mass of numbers got in his
way, beat him back step by step, notwith-
standing tho leaden hail poured into the saw
ages from the cavalry carbines, and finally
overpowered and killed every white man
after the ammunition of tho latter had been
exhausted Custer's men fought all they
could, fired shot after shot with telling effect,
but all to no purpose.
Indians who We're IN that fight have told
mo some strange stories. Sitting Bull was
not in the fight at all. Gall was the big chief
and generalissimo of the day, and while he
was leading the bucks and directing the en-.
gagememt, old Tonka-te-Tonda Sitting Bully
was back in his medicine lodge making nledi.
cine. As tho Indians won and Sitting Bull
made the medicine he, Of course, got all the
credit for the victory. One Of the Indians
says that the shells got stuck in the white
mans carbines, and when those weapons we're
thus rendered useless as fire arms the poor
fellows, pressed to the wall and overpowered
ten to one, dubbed their guns and fought
desperately, with death staring them i'll the
face, until the last doomed man fell i'll his
tracks. When the ammunition was exhausted
the Indians walked up, knocked them down
with clubs and butchered them with hatchets.
Gall told me that tho main object of his
young men was to stampede the horses, which
carried the saddle pockets in which each
soldier had stored his ammunition The
troopers had, perhaps, fifty rounds apiece on
their persons, but the main supply was in the
saddle bags, being entirely too heavy to carry
on the body. In all, the soldiers were sup
piled with about two hundred rounds per man
for the fight. When the cavalrymen were
dismounted to fight on foot one soldier
was detailed to hold every eight horses.
Gall says he quickly saw the advantage to be
gained could tho horses, laden with ammuni-
tion be stampeded, so he devised plan to
that end. He sent a score or two Of young
bucks up ravine to the rear, and these en-
bryo warriors unmindful of flying lead and
the danger of the job suddenly rose up with
yells and shouts just i'll front of the horses,
swung their blankets wildly in the air, and
every steed in the outfit broke loose from the
holders and scampered down the ravine to-
wards the Little Horn, where they were
gathered i'll by the squaws and old men
on the wait for just what had occurred.
Many of the Indians were armed with cav
airy carbines and United States muskets, SO
this very ammunition was turned against
Custer and his men, and no doubt had much
to do with deciding the fortunes of the day.
From all that can be gathered by question.
ing Curley, tho Grow scout, and the only
living survivor who marched with Custer,
and also from the narrative of GALL who has
since visited the spot and told the story of the
day on the ground where he made it, it ap-
pears that there were between 5000 and I, 1000
Indians iii the village at the time Custer de-
scended upon it, and that the attack was not
SO much of q surprise to the red men as has
generally been supposed. Gall says that he
saw the soldiers early in the morning crossing
the divide, and noted carefully that the white
men divided themselves into three divisions
When Custer's command swept off to the
right they lost sight of that force temporarily,
keeping their eyes on Reno, who came directly
down to the river, seeking a ford to cross over
and fight. Reno did cross over, paused a
minute to rest and tighten girths, remounted
oil his men, and rode up alongside some ash
timber mile and half, when he suddenly
came in sight Of the village. When the
soldiers saw all these Indians the bugles
sounded "charge," the soldiers came rushing
like the wind upon their women and children
and killed many of them, but the braves rallied
in great force. turned on the troopers and
chased them back to the river, into which
everybody tumbled and scrambled up to the
top Of a steep hill opposite When they had
Reno on the hill the bucks, in great numbers,
tried to drive him off; but not succeeding,
the women, old men and some bucks were left
to guard them while the others recrossed the
stream and hurried down to tho other end Of
the village, where the cry had been raised
th,t ynora aoldiara vvoro cor,ino Of corrso
th;s ,ras r,,sta.,s o,,tft o,,d ,,a how M talo
~ tt,ot torr;hIa ofa;, axoa,,+ ,vhot +ho Ind;ans
ta,i ,s .'' '--"A e->0ep' '-1'' '(-' A11>'''''
Eron, o,, +ho+ nm ,o ,,o+horo,, =. soor,,
that r,,star ro,,s+ @ hano how " oos'a ,o,r, as fer os
tia '.;,,ar ,t,,i,;s +noorons aItha,,nh Col, cove
ho never got within half mile of tho stream
but the footprints of the cavalry horses led
in a broad and well defined trail clear down
.ss. ~ Suo =. w.. ,."as.. GaiI ,,o,,t ,r;+i, M
aienoa " IL, 'ue go ~, oar+ain snot fu1lw ono
n .os 49,, ~ A. a,5 sa;d aatIv
sa;.;,.a,.. .t,o4 tt,o ,,t;ta so,d;ars ,rot M
pos..g .t .a..S .,,eS 'n .I,, 4ha. anmt on5 wow
.,.a,, a,.s. @ at w, lie I,,a,.as ,nd fn,glt hacL
came on the bank, the chief explained that